Author: Karan

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Bus Journey From Skaidi to UIT Alta

The journey from Skaidi to Alta was the last leg of our 3-day field trip. Our bus arrived at Skaidi at about 15:00 after our visit to Stabbursdalen national park and the visitor center. Skaidi is a town in the municipality of Kvalsund which has a population of approximately 1,100.  The travel from Skaidi to Alta is at a distance of 84km which takes about 1.5 hours by bus.

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Ellen giving us a briefing about our next visit

Skaidi -where the sea meets river and mountain

On arriving at Skaidi, we bid goodbye to Ellen who was primarily responsible for organising a memorable field trip and gave her a round of hurrah. We took the opportunity to stretch our legs and quickly commenced our bus ride back to Alta on highway E6.
The bus journey traverses through the beautiful Kvalsund municipality which boast of its pristine nature. Kvalsund municipality has been rightly quoted as “where the sea meets River Mountain”; most parts of our journey was along with the clam flowing Repparfjordelva River which flows up north.  The river is an important feature for the population living in the region as it is home to some of the best salmon in Norway. Repparfjordelva is also host to outdoor activities like kayaking, fishing etc and during winter it is a perfect spot for ice fishing.

Vast flat land with mountain range in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

Spectacular change in topography

The spectacular landscape that we witnessed on this is part of the journey was a treat to the eyes. It was interesting to see the change in topographical features from land covered with midget birch trees to a near barren rugged landscape with only a few shrubs and dried wild grass.  On either side of the road, though it was rugged land, we noticed small range of mountains at far distances which were again completely bare surface lacking any life. As the landscape was flat it was easy to spot small reindeer herds running away in the opposite direction of human transport. It was fascinating to see patches of small bodies’ lakes/ water catchments which I presume are a source of water to the native wildlife.
As we neared Rafsbotn and leaving Kvalsund municipality behind, we immediately noticed the change in the landscape. The autumn colours of birch trees were visible again. It was like; there is new life in the surrounding. The bare landscape was being replaced by thick vegetation on either side. It trees were greener, there were vast patches of farmlands and few sections of fenced sheep farm.  It was indeed very intriguing to witness the change in topography within a short distance.

Travelling along the Altafjorden

Driving along the calmly flowing Repparfjordelva River

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Closer to Alta, the road drove us along the Altafjorden which was again a splendid view.  With increase in human habitation and the road traffic, we knew our journey was coming to end, leaving behind amazing nature that we had the pleasure of witnessing. The Altajorden was lit by dusk sky colour as we saw the clam waves falling on the banks of the fjord.

Ending our journey at the UIT, we disembarked from the bus, gathered our belonging and as suggested by Britt, we all gave each other a warm hug. The Golden route of sampi excursion had left all of us with deep thoughts and great memories to cherish for life long.

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FUN DAY AT ALTA MUSEUM –A WORLD HERITAGE CENTER IN ALTA

 

Unexpected cultural sight can be found far North Norway! If nowadays we might think about the remote area of Finnmark, imagine how it was 7000 hundred years ago! Probably not so different… According to with the figures that can be seen carved on the rocks, nature was and still is part of the human culture. Unesco´s World Heritage is present everywhere and this might be one of the reasons why Alta Museum is one of the main attractions in this place

General facts about rock carvings:

Rock carving is a term for prehistoric images, carved, cut or ground into rocks and mountains. They can be found in loose boulders and on solid mountains. It is often carved into open places, but tone can also find it in caves.

They often have motives from hunting or farming, and there are thousands of pictures about people, animals, boats or other objects. It is believed that they had a magical meaning and it’s said that the higher the stones are placed, the older the rock carvings are.

Visitor experience to Alta museum

The World Heritage Rock Art Alta museum is one of the “must thing to do”on your visit to Alta. Located at of one of the far end of Alta Fjord, the visitors are treated with a phenomenal view of the fjord.
On arriving at the museum we were greeted by their friendly and polite staff. Our guide for the day was Ali who had gathered us outside on the deck which was overlooking the fjord. Our group was briefed about the tour of the magnificent rock carving we would soon be guided to. The briefing was mostly focused on the does and don’t while walking to the rocks carving and the fragility of the historic rocks. It was a pleasure of having being guided by Ali who had presented herself professionally and patiently answered all our curious questions. Having a knowledgeable guide like Ali had enchased our experience to Alta museum.

Walking along the wooden track which is provided for protecting the rock arts, gave us the experience of connecting with the lush green natural surrounding.

We stopped at the “Little Rock” first – one of the oldest rock art in Alta.  Some of the carvings had at one point in modern times been painted for better visibility. This practice is debated because it “compromises the conditions of authenticity.” I appreciate that, though it’s also easy to see what it is and why it was done – it can be hard to see the carvings without the outlines.

My favorite carving might be the whale’s image because  people used natural ripples in the rock as water:

Thanks for good tour guided by Alta Museum so that we can know more about the rock arts and showed us many nice puzzles about lifestyle of the Stone Age’s citizens.